Six Indian Women Making An Impact In The AI Sector

For the longest time, AI was seen as a man’s world. But now, women in AI are changing that. They’re not just joining the field, and they’re even leading it with ideas that actually make a difference. From using AI to help kids with learning differences to improving healthcare and making businesses smarter. These women are proving that AI built with empathy hits differently.

Women in AI matter because they break the mould with their ideas. They think about how AI can help people, not just how it can perform better. That’s the kind of mindset that shapes the future of innovation. They’re breaking stereotypes, leading teams, and showing that you don’t have to fit into anyone’s definition to belong in AI. These women aren’t just part of India’s AI story; they're shifting the narrative. 

Saumya Prakash

Saumya Prakash is the Co-Founder and Director of Multiplier AI, a company using Artificial Intelligence to make healthcare and pharma smarter. Her company builds tools, namely Doc Profiler and Scientific Social Listening, that help brands like Cipla, Abbott, and Sun Pharma understand doctors and patients. From a small startup to a growing public company, Multiplier AI is changing how healthcare decisions are made. 

She studied Computer Science at BITS Pilani, Bioinformatics at IIIT Hyderabad, and earned an MBA from SP Jain. This mix of tech and business skills helped her bridge the gap between data and decision-making. Her strong academic background shaped her vision of using AI to solve real-world problems. 

In 2024, she won SheThePeople’s Digital Women Award in AI and Disruption for her work in health-tech. She also hosts The Pharma Marketing Playbook podcast and authored Her Bold Startup, celebrating women in business. Through her work, she’s helping make healthcare more inclusive and efficient. Saumya continues to inspire women to lead with confidence and shape the future of technology.

Nidhi

Nidhi is the Founder and Tech CEO of NEMA AI, a neuroscience and AI startup using brain data to improve mental health and education. For her impact in AI and innovation, she received the SheThePeople Digital Women Award 2023, a recognition that celebrates women using AI to create meaningful change.

Her company has created India’s first EEG-based, patent-pending platform that helps detect and support conditions like Autism, ADHD, and Down Syndrome. By combining science and technology, Nidhi is making mental health support more data-driven, accurate, and accessible. 

A graduate of Delhi Technological University (DTU) in Electrical, Electronics, and Communication Engineering. Nidhi turned her academic knowledge into real innovation. Her strong technical foundation helped her build products that bring together neuroscience and artificial intelligence. She’s part of a new wave of young women engineers using tech to solve deeply human challenges.

NEMA AI gained national fame after being featured on Shark Tank India Season 3, where Nidhi secured ₹80 lakh in funding. The company also became runner-up at The Big Idea Summit and is now partnering with AIIMS for clinical trials and working toward FDA ( Food and Drug Administration ) approval for global expansion. 

Sandhya Agarwal

Sandhya Agarwal is the Co-Founder and COO of CakeSoft Technologies, a software company that helps startups and global enterprises build powerful and efficient tech solutions. Her journey has earned her multiple recognitions, including the SheThePeople Digital Women Award 2023 for her contribution to AI. 

With her company, she’s making it easier for businesses to scale smarter and faster through custom-built software and AI-driven tools. Her work reflects how women in AI are driving meaningful innovation by turning complex technology into practical, real-world solutions.

A BITS Pilani graduate, Sandhya holds a B.Tech in Computer Science and brings over 14 years of experience in the IT industry. She began her career with Infosys and later co-founded software ventures that developed multiple SaaS (Software as a Service) products like SalesJarvis and Blockchain Simplified. Through her work, she has supported companies of all sizes, from emerging startups to NASDAQ- and NSE-listed firms, helping them streamline operations and enhance efficiency.

Sandhya is also part of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurs program and completed a leadership course at IIM Bangalore. Her story shows how women leaders like her are shaping the AI world with creativity, resilience, and a vision to make innovation more inclusive.

Aditi Avasthi

Aditi Avasthi is the Founder and CEO of Embibe, an AI-powered education platform that is transforming how students learn in India. Her company uses artificial intelligence to create personalised learning experiences, helping students understand their strengths and improve where they struggle. Through Embibe, Aditi is proving how AI can make education not just smarter, but also more accessible and meaningful for everyone.

Aditi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Thapar University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Before building her own company, she worked with Tata Consultancy Services and Barclays Bank, where she helped lead digital and mobile banking projects. Her strong mix of technical and business experience helped her bring together data, design, and empathy to build a learning platform that connects deeply with students.

Her vision and impact have earned her several honours, including BBC’s Top 100 Women (2017), Vogue Woman of the Year (2018), and Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum (2021). Under her leadership, Embibe has reached millions of students and secured major investment from Reliance Industries, setting a new benchmark for India’s EdTech innovation. 

Jyothi Joshi

Jyoti Joshi is the Founder and CEO of Kroop.ai, a deep tech startup using artificial intelligence to make digital communication more human. Her company has built a cutting-edge platform that turns text or audio into realistic talking avatars used in dubbing, gaming, and marketing. Through Kroop.ai, she’s showing how AI can add emotion and creativity to technology, making it feel more alive and expressive.

A first-generation entrepreneur and AI scientist, Dr. Jyoti holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Canberra, Australia. During her research journey, she worked at top global institutions like the University of Waterloo in Canada and Monash University in Australia, where she explored emotion recognition, speech analysis, and human-computer interaction through digital avatars.

Her groundbreaking work at the intersection of art and AI has earned her multiple honours, including the Google Women Techmakers Award, the Future Women Leaders Conference Award, and the Fiorella De Rosis Honour Award. Jyoti’s story reflects how women in AI are redefining technology, making it not just smarter, but also more human and inspiring.

Krishna Priya Akella

Krishna Priya Akella is the Founder and CEO of Starbuzz.ai, an AI-powered influencer marketing platform that helps brands connect with the right creators. The platform uses data analytics and artificial intelligence to match brands with influencers, track campaign performance, and detect fake followers. Since its launch in 2021, Starbuzz.ai has built a network of over 45,000 influencers and worked with top clients like Meta and Mercedes-Benz.

Krishna Priya completed her Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Sreenidhi College of Engineering, Hyderabad. Though trained as an engineer, her real passion lay in coding and software development. With determination and self-learning, she became a skilled full-stack developer, combining her technical knowledge and creativity to bring her entrepreneurial vision to life.

Under her leadership, Starbuzz.ai has grown rapidly and was incubated by T-Hub in Hyderabad. In 2024, the company raised $500,000 in seed funding to expand its operations. Krishna Priya continues to inspire as a young entrepreneur who is redefining influencer marketing with AI and empowering brands to make smarter, data-driven decisions.